Automobile body



June 6, 1933. G. E. GRIMM 1,913,306

AUTOMOBILE BODY Original Filed May 3].. 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR,

BY JWMWM VA TTORNEK l June s, 1933. G GEMM. 1,913,336

AUTOMOBILE BODY Original Filed May 31, 1927 S'SheetsSheet 2 ATTORNE):

June 6, 1933. G. E. GRIMM AUTOMOBILE BODY original Filed may 31. 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

650126:' E. Gar/MM ATTORNEY.`

June s, 1933. G, E. GRIMM 1,913,306

AUTOMOBILE BODY originell Filed May s1. '1927 6 sheets-sheet 4,.

INVENTOR. 6502865 E Gar/mv M /TM ATTORNEY;

June 6, 1933. G. E. GRIMM 1,913,305

AUTOMOBILE BODY Original Filed Ma;7 51. 1.927 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 ET IXE- ATTORNEY.

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June 6, 1933.

f1 Q Xl Fig. IX is a sectional view taken on line IX-IX of Fig. VI.

Fig. X is a front elevation of the left door illar. p Fig. XI is a side elevation of the left door illar. 7 P Fig.'XII is a sectional view taken on line XII-XII of Fig. XI.

Fig. X111 is a Setonal View taken on line XIII-XIII of Fig. XI.

Fig. XIV is a sectional view taken on line XIV-XIV of Fig. X.

Fig. XV is a sectional view taken XVXV: of- Fig. I.

Fig. XVI is a sectional view taken on line XVI-XVI of Fig. I. Fig. XVII is a sectional view taken on line XVIITXVII of Fig.v VI.

o ig. XVIII is a 'sectional view taken on line XVIII-XVIII of Fig.y I.

Fig". XIX is a sectional view taken on line XIXQ-.XIXof Fig. XI.

o a sectional view taken on line XX-#XX of FigfVI.

Referring to the drawings in which like parts aref'designated by like numerals throughoutv the views, I have shown in Figs.

I and the front portion of a closed vehicle` having the conventional wood body l0, froin'which arise wooden pillars 12, having castmetal continuations 134 secured the upper ends thereof and forming togetherwith the wooden lower portions, composits body hinge pillars that extend from the sills 12|fto the roof 14; The wooden por-l tions areA preferably of rectangular' section ,any suitable sizverin order to :facilitatev convenientattachment to the upper portions andterminate at approximately theV lower ed'de'ofthewindow 16. rlhe upper metallic portions l13 ofthe pillars: are very much smaller and are preterably cast `with Iinteg'r'al flattened portions, 1 7, for attachment tothe woodeny upright posts, and laterally extending portions 18 for securing them to the arcfli bar 2x0 that extends across the body tothe opposite post.v The arch.bar 2()A forms an abutment for the movable windshield 22, and a1 support for lthe cowl member'24 in addition to itspillar bracing function. The metallic portions ofthe pillars are lsecured to'botli the wooden post andthe arch member by wood screws 26 and bolts 28, the upper portion of4 the cast members being provided with lateral extensions 30 for permanent at tachment to the top by means of' any suitable securing means extending througlrholes 32. The cross section of each ycast'body pillar portion 13 is preferably an. L section Vhaving the' angular portion of the L facing forward in order to allow thefmovable wind,-V shi'eld 22 togfoldbackward into the L and permit the weather strip 34 tok contact with the back `and side of the pillar recess. Hinge members 36 are preferably cast integral with Q11 line the pillar 13 in order to reduce the cost and also to avoid reduction of vision caused by the ordinary means used to attach separate hinges.

The door 38 which is pivotally secured to the front body pillar, has its hinge pillar of substantially the same construction as the body hinge pillar, that is, the lower portion 40 is formed of wood and the upper portion 42 is formed of a casting similar to the body hinge pillar. The hinge portions 44 are also i cast'integral with the door pillar and have lower llattened portions 46 and 48 for providing Vconvenient "attachment Y to the wooden door pillar 40 and door frame member `50 respectively, by wood screws-52. In order to reduce the machining of the casting to a minimum, I prefer to leave the greater portion ofl both the body and door pillars in the unfinished condition, and to provide linishing strips, preferably formed of sheet metal, for imparting the desired shape and appearance to the posts. The body pillar requires but one finishing strip 54 which is shaped to contact with opposite sides of the L-shaped pillar 13, and is secured thereto by means of drive screws 56 which permanently secure the finishing strip that gives a pleas'- ing finished appearance to the pillar.

The door 38 whichis provided with a slidable window 16, necessarily requires two finishing strips, which consist of an outer strip 58 that is secured to the pillar by drive screws 60, in the same manner as in the case of the body pillar 13, and an inner strip 62 secured to the pillar by screws 64. The finishing strips for the door pillar 42 serve a dual purpose,4 one of which is to give a pleasing appearance to the pillar and the other of which is to provide a supporting guideV for the slidable window 16. Because of this,l the door finishing strips require to be better lo-r cated than the body pillar finishing strips 54, and I have provided recesses 66 lin the door pillar 42 intowhich are received pro-A jecting portions 68 of the outer finishing strip 58 for securely holding the strip in a predetermined relation to the slidable window 16. The inner finishing strip 62- which forms the opposite side of the window guide, is preferablyremovably held, in positionL by screws64 and is preferably formed with inturned edgesV ZO'which afford some resilience'to the strip 62 and permit the screws 64 to. bevtightened and cause the strip to exert a pressure upon the flexible packing 72. It may be noted in Fig. IgV that the adjacent surfaces of the body and door hinge pillars are parallel and very close together, and alsothat'the head of thedrive screws 56 extend inwardly towardthe door pillar'. Because-of this, in some cases it is'necessary to provide. slight clearance depressions Z4 in the opposite pillar to prevent the contacting of the door pillar. with the heads of the j viations `of the drive screws that are used for attaching the finishing strip 54 to the body pillar' 13. It is not necessary to have the finishing strips contact with the entire surface of the pillars at some oints and it may be desirable to have the Enishing strips of some other shape than that of the pillars, in order to give a more pleasing appearance thereto. Such de- `nishing strip from the general contour of the pillars are shown in Figs. IV and XVI. j

In addition to the castmetal corner posts and metal arch bar, I also prefer to have the windshield header member 76 formed `of metal, as by so doing a complete metal frame for the movable windshield is provided. Both the header 76 and the arch bar 20 may be formed of cast metal but I prefer to make these parts of sheet metal as it has been found that space is not of suflicient'importance to make the sheet metal construction less desirable than the cast form. Sheet metalhas some advantages for these parts in that the thin flanges 75 of the header 76 are easily secured to the roof 14, `and the open chan# nelled arch bar 2O permits the bolts 7 8, that secure the instrument board 80, to be concealed by the finishing panel S2. For the body corner posts, overall dimensions are of prime importance, and it is believed that the cast pillar construction shown and described provides the necessary strength with less visual obstruction than any other form. The casting is stronger than wood, more compact than a sheet metal post of equal strength, and the necessity of machining the surface is eliminated by the thin metal finishing strips. If it is desired, both the body and door hinge pillars may be formcdentirely of metal, but Ipreferthe composite Wood and cast metal structure because of the sound deadening nature of the wood, and the ease with which the wood portions may be changed to correct inaccuracies in the other parts. y

The hereindeseribed method of constructing a corner post provides a structure that has many distinct advantages. It may be noticed from Fig. IV that the windshield 22, in its normal position, is housed within the angle of the body pillarso that the body pillar together with all opaque parts, such as the hinges 36 and 44, finishing strips 54, 58 and 62, and the packing strip 84, form a body corner post that presents very little visional obstruction to a vehicle operator who is positioned inside the angle formed by the windshield 22 and the door window 16. The section of the post which is formed by both the body and. door hinge pillars is very compact, and the amount of material that is included in the smallest circle that will encompass the whole post is materially greater than is possible to secure with a post formed ofsheet metal members. The material used in themselves reduce the vision from within the vehicle body.

While I have illustrated and described, somewhat in detail, one embodiment of the invent-ion, it is to be understood that this showing and description is illustrative only, and that I do not regard the invention as limited to the details of construction illustrated and described except insofar as I have included such limitations within the terms j of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A composite hinge pillar forming a portion of a corner post for a motor vehicle, said pillar comprising a wooden lower portion,

formed with integral projections adapted to f orm portions of a door hinge, and an L section upper cast portion, said upper portion having its L section arranged in position to receive a windshield within the angle `of the section.

2. A corner post for a motor vehicle having a windshield, comprising a pair of cast metal pillars having adjacent parallel surfaces, and relatively thin finishing strips secured to other surfaces of the pillars, whereby said post embodies a rough interior portion and a finished outer portion.

3. A motor vehicle body front comprising apair of vertical wooden uprights, a cast metal corner pillar secured to each of said uprights forming a continuation thereof, said cast pillar portions having integral hinge portions adapted to support a door projecting therefrom and recesses formed therein, a cross bar connecting the lower portion of said pillars, and a windshield pivotally mounted above said cross bar and normally abutting said corner posts within said recesses.

y 4. A motor Vehicle body front comprising a pair of vertical wooden uprights, a cast metal corner pillar secured to each of said` uprights `forming. `a vertical continuation thereof, and having hinge portions projecting therefrom adapted to pivotally support a door adjacent said pillars, said pillars havmg recesses formed therein, cross members connecting the top and bottom respectively of said metal corner pillars, and a windshield abutting said bottom cross member and the rear wall of the pillar' recesses.

5. A motor vehicle body having narrow corner posts, said posts comprising cast rehinged to the top cross member and normally 125 cessedbody pillars and cast door pillars pivi 13o oli-,ally secured. to .the bodypvllars `byintegral projecting hhgefporrtons, a Windshield. normallyv abuttingv ysaid bodypllars Within said recess, andnshivrlgv-st'1'ips'esecured to said pillars fo covering the Surface thereof.

I1; testimony whereof@ aHX my signature.

GEORGEy GRIMM, 

